


Catching a King

by EventHorizons13



Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood and Injury, Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Crime Families, Death, F/M, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Gen, Illegal Activities, Language, Not Canon Compliant, Organized Crime, Sons of Anarchy is Its Own Warning, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:20:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23660716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EventHorizons13/pseuds/EventHorizons13
Summary: A series of one shots. Cassidy Duggins is part of a large family that runs guns in Boston for the IRA. She catches the attention of Galen O'Shay. Little do either know that the family Cassidy has out west is going to cause some real problems for the both of them.
Relationships: Galen O'Shay/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy Duggins has her first run in with the Butcher of Belfast himself when she has to handle a business problem.

A smirk curled my lips as I took in the sight of the men littering the bar, glasses of beer and shots of whiskey being passed around as laughter took over the area. It was nice to see them relaxing and enjoying themselves. We had had a rough few weeks but things were getting back on track now and I found it acceptable that they were given some time to fool around. I took my own small decanter of whiskey, choosing to keep my head on my shoulders. Let my brothers losing themselves in their drink and some women. The supply shipment would be arriving in two days and I wanted to have my wits about me tomorrow to make the few calls that I needed to make and have everything in order. The guys might be the face of the family operation but I was the brains. I kept things running and kept our partners happy. Shawn slid into the seat next to me, a grin on his face and a beer in his hand.

"Come on Cas. Enjoy the evening. Things are good, we got it under control. Live a little sis." I nearly laughed at the goofy look that came over his face. My brothers could be idiots but I loved them dearly. They were family and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

"One of us has to keep their heads on their shoulders and Lord knows if I let one of you handle things, we will be up shits creek without a paddle." He pouted and rolled his eyes, letting out a playful whine.

"Why are you so mean?" I reached out and patted his cheek gently, shaking my head just a bit.

"Someone has to keep you all grounded. Let you go on your own and your egos would be so big that you wouldn't be able to get into the bar."

"Love you too Cas." I nodded my head back towards the rest of the room where some music was starting.

"Why don't you go show 'em how a Duggins does it huh? Get the lads another round too, on me." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead before standing up and heading over to the group that was getting ready to clear some tables and carry out some form of a hilarious, poorly done jig.

I watched the way that they all made fools of themselves for some time before I felt my phone vibrate. Pulling the device out of a pocket of my jacket, glancing down at the unknown number. I stared at it for a few seconds before I decided that it was smart to answer it in case it was business related. Standing up, I made my way to the alleyway beside the bar, answering with a quiet hello before even getting outside.

"Am I talking with Cassidy Duggins?" I cocked a brow and braced myself against the side of the wall. I debated giving out a false name, not knowing who was at the other end of the line. The life that we led meant that we always had to be careful. There was a bit of a familiar Irish lithe to the voice though and I fought against the initial urge.

"This is she."

"There is some business we need to discuss."

"I'm listening." I kept my answers short, wanting to know who I was dealing with before I ended up giving away too much information. I glanced around the alleyway, not noting any bodies that were lingering or anything that indicated anyone was watching.

"Seems that one of your men has been causing some problems." I gritted my teeth, already knowing where this was going. There had been whispers of Johnny deciding that what we were doing wasn't worth it, that he didn't want the life anymore. He was a kid we had taken off the street and had given a lot to. So, I had wanted to deny it at first but loyalty was hard to find these days. I wasn't going to jeopardize everything that my parents had built up, that we had built up for the sake of some sentimental feelings. So, two days ago, I had put my youngest brother Reilly on it. It was best to have information before we ended up harming someone who may not have betrayed us.

"You're talking about Johnny."

"So you aren't as unaware of the situation as we thought." Licking my lips, I crossed my one arm over my chest as I listening to the voice over the phone speak. My head was clicking things together slowly. I could very well be talking to a higher up in the cause right now and I had to make sure that I answered all the questions right or we would be in a lot of trouble. Sure we moved a lot of guns, a huge chunk of their east coast line but any hint of betrayal was viewed as absolutely unacceptable. They would find a new way to keep things moving and money flowing if we were no longer viewed as capable or trustworthy. "And what are you doing about it?"

"I am going to eliminate the problem at all costs. Nothing is allowed to compromise what we have built and the lines that the cause have." The answer seemed to have pleased him, whoever it was on the other end of the line. That alone had me resting a bit easier.

"I expect it to be handled by the time the shipment arrives."

"Of course. It will be done by tomorrow afternoon." The confidence dripped from my voice though I felt anything close to that level. I couldn't let him in on that though.

"Good." It was the last thing that I got before a click was heard. I pulled the phone away from my ear and cursed softly before closing my eyes and taking in a deep breath. No need to get riled up. That was not going to serve any purpose. No, level heads worked better than emotional, I knew that and had to follow through on it.

**************************************

I accompanied my brothers for the arrival of the shipment, feeling the need to be seen after the phone call that I had gotten. Clearly someone knew who really was heading things and while I didn't think that the Kings would approve, I decided to not question it. We had run things that way for quite some time and it had been working well for us. Johnny, as promised had been dealt with before lunch yesterday. Shawn had put the bullet into his skull personally while I had been there to supervise. Not that I was above getting my hands dirty but someone had to keep some sort of front for the police if they came sniffing around. As far as they knew, I was the college kid that came from a rough family.

Dressing smart, I stood beside my rough and tumble brothers, looking every bit the handler and brains of the operation. My back remained straight and I kept the needed pose to show these men that I meant business. The truck came rolling up and I watched as my brothers posture stiffened just a bit. They weren't all that pleased that I was present and I knew that they would be protective. It only worsened when the man stepped out of the car. I heard Reilly mutter softly under his breath and I just refrained from reaching out and smacking him upside the head. It was unprofessional and rude.

Turning my attention to the man, I took in the suit, the air of power that he carried around with him, and the respect that his men were showing him. This wasn't the normal drop guy; that much was clear as day. I didn't need to be at the shipments to know that, even if I knew the guys face by heart. In case anything were to happen of course. His eyes ran over us before they stopped on me and a smirk came to his face. I fought one of my own, finding myself more relaxed than I probably should have been given the circumstances.

"Nice to finally meet the woman running the organization." The lithe flowed over me and it took a distracted second for me to connect his being with the one that had called me two nights ago. I was still a human and was affected by certain things after all and I was a sucker for that brogue. Pulling myself from around my brothers, I stepped forward and held out a hand for the obvious IRA king.

"Cassidy Duggins. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Galen." He gave me a firm shake with that smirk still on his face. "Our little problem taken care of?"

"Personally saw to it."

"That a girl. Now, shall we get down to business?" I had to stay on top of my game here, I couldn't let him throw me off.

"Of course." I motioned for Shawn to follow me over to the back of the truck. He was the one who normally handled this situations. It would be best for me to have him beside me. It also kept the rest of my brothers calm, having him close to me. It was sweet really even if I could have handled myself.

We peaked through the crates, noticing that the stock had nearly doubled. I glanced at Shawn, already crunching the numbers in my head and working out the logistics of the larger number. Our normal buyers weren't about to take more in, they couldn't risk it. There were a few other avenues that I had been looking into that were a little more reliable and a little less risky but I had yet to discuss it with the rest of the family. Shawn huffed a bit and I closed my eyes ashis mouth got the better of him.

"This is more than usual. We can't..." I couldn't help myself as I stepped in, not wanting things to turn sour.

"We'll handle it. There has been some new business opportunities that popped up and if they prove to be worthy and reliable, we should have no problem moving the increased stock. May even be able to move more if it all works out." Galen was amused as he watched how I took over the situation, it was clear as day as he looked between the two of us.

"That was what I was expecting to hear. Same deal as before." I bite the inside of my cheek, knowing that he was testing me, trying to push and see where my boundaries were.

"We are moving more stock. We'll pay same price but give us a five percent greater cut."It wasn't all that difficult to move what we were doing now, but I don't think he knew the extent of it. He cocked a brow, as if he was a little shocked that I had come back with such a lower percentage. Shawn was not pleased beside me but I was keeping the peace and keeping business ties strong.

"Aye, I think that could be arranged." He stuck his hand out this time and I quickly moved to shake it. "Pleasure doing business with you." This wasn't the last time that I was going to have run-ins with Galen O'Shay. I knew that and was actually looking forward to it.


	2. Dealings with the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems a certain King decides to involve himself in Cassidy's life more. Is it for business purposes or something more?

Things had settled down relatively quickly after the meeting with the King and his representatives that had been stateside. As I had promised, the new avenues had panned out and we were moving more stock than we thought we could have handled. Shawn was still a bit disgruntled about the whole thing, not used to having me around to undermine him. As much as I hated to have to do it, it had to be done. It was turning out to be good for us in the end but at the moment, he didn’t want to acknowledge it. He would come around, even if it took him some time to. I had received another two calls from O’Shay himself, checking in on things personally. I thought it odd but decided not to question it. If that was how he ran business who was I to question? Like an obedient soldier, I followed orders and jumped when the commander said to. I may have been the head of operations at home but I knew when I needed to back down and give my respect. Which didn’t always please some of my family. They had grown a little too comfortable with their positions. I was apparently one of the only ones who could see how important it was to maintain a good relationship between us and them. So it be, I was running things so they would go how I wanted them to anyway. It all worked out in the end, even if some people were less than pleased with me. They would get over it eventually. Especially when I kept the cash flowing in and their asses out of jail.

I pulled my bag higher over my shoulder, walking out of my last class for the day. I was almost finished up with my thesis but that didn’t mean that I was able to slack in any of the classes. And my brothers thought that they had a lot to juggle. I nearly chuckled at the thought but refrained for the time being. Glancing towards one of the guys that had been trying to get my attention for ages, I rolled my eyes and continued moving on despite how he called out my name a couple of times. Some younger guy, freshmen or sophomore. Much too cocky for his own good and someone that I had no time for. Not to mention, he wouldn’t have been able to handle my family. That was when my phone rang. Not the phone that I kept for school and supposed friends but my business phone. Groaning softly, I tried to move a little faster to evade the persistent jackass that insisted on following me.

“Hello.”

“I would prefer not to have to call you to discuss problems with your people.” I ignored the way that my heart started to beat a little faster, not just from the adrenaline rush of having to worry about dealing with another internal problem but maybe just a little bit from the voice that came through the phone.

“Lovely to hear from you too.” It was signal that I wasn’t quite able to speak freely at the moment. “Which book needs to be checked out this time?”

“A little closer to home than usual. Looks like one of your brothers has been talking to the wrong people.” I nearly came to a complete stop, ice washing through my veins at the thought. No, none of them would turn their back on family, they didn’t have it in them. He took my silence as a sign that I didn’t know. “I’ll save you some work. Seems Danny boy can’t keep his mouth shut. Especially after he got a few drinks into him.” I gripped the phone a bit tighter, mind working hard to wrap around the fact that I was being told one of my brothers was a rat.

“Hey Cassidy…you okay?” There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

“Am I interrupting something?”

“No, not at all. Just finishing up classes for the day.” At least that wasn’t a lie. I flipped off the guy and started to pick up my pace once again. I needed to get off campus, get to a place where I could think this all through.

“Think we should meet up to talk about this problem and how you are going to sort it out. Don’t want you making the wrong call.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.” My voice took a bit of a harder edge. If Danny had been spouting off at the mouth, well I would handle it, get my hands dirty this time around. I wouldn’t put that on anyone else. They were going to have a hard enough time handling the truth if it was indeed the truth. This was going to break my poor mother.

“How about that coffee shop that is around the corner from your campus. Seems cozy enough.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen.” He was already there, he wouldn’t be suggesting it if he wasn’t.

“See you soon lovie.” As I slid into my car, I slammed my hands against the wheel and cursed violently. I needed to get all of my anger, disgust, and sadness out now before I saw Galen. He would likely have proof would just make things harder. I had to shut it off and go in like it was a normal business issue.

He was already sipping a coffee when I arrived, motioning for me to take a seat. This didn’t seem like a usual spot for him to conduct business but I had no idea how he actually worked so I had no grounds to really question it. There was a smirk on his face as I sat, seemingly taking in my more relaxed wear. I wasn’t about to sit through a few hours of class in business attire. I ignored the way that his eyes felt on me before getting straight to it.

“Who and what?”

“Gonna need to be a bit more specific for me.”

“Who has he talked to and what has he said? You wouldn’t be calling me up with this if you didn’t have proof that there was a problem.” I was proud that my voice came out even and devoid of any sentiment. I relaxed back in my chair and tried to appear as calm as possible about this all. I could see that he appreciate the fact. Most would be calling him a liar surely, unable to handle the thought that someone that close had turned their back. He slid a file across the table and I opened it up to look at the pictures. My eyes closed as I took in the faces and the inevitable feeling that was settling over me. This was bad, very, very bad. Without saying another word to him, I dug my phone out of my pocket and dialed up Danny.

“Hey Danny. Listen, I need you to meet me down at the warehouse on the docks. Nah, nothing bad just need an extra set of hands to move a few things before they come for inspection. Shawn is too upset at me to answer his phone right now. Perfect, I’ll see you in thirty.” Galen nodded his approval as I closed the phone and slid it back into my pocket. The noise of the busy cafe around us faded into the background, it becoming a white noise hum in my ears. I was going to have to kill one of my brothers. That was a hard pill to swallow.

“I think I’ll accompany you, make sure all loose ends are tied up. This is the second time that you haven’t had control over your people. That isn’t exactly something that we can allow now is it?” I shook my head, focusing down on the table for a moment, jaw clenched tight as I steeled myself again against an onslaught of emotions that threatened to pull me under.

“Let’s get moving then.” He was all smiles as he stood up and followed me to my car.

I closed my eyes and took a steadying breath, allowing the emotion and overwhelmed sensation of the moment wash away. I couldn’t let it ruin everything, couldn’t let it make the man that was leaning against the crates so casually think of me any different. Part of me wanted to make an example of my brother for anyone else who thought that this shit was a game but at the same time, I wouldn’t be able to handle having to kill him in front of everyone. I would break down. It was going to be difficult as it was right then to not lose it entirely. The sound of the door opening and slamming shut echoed through the building. Familiar steps made their way towards us. Danny always was the heaviest walker of my brothers. There was no way that he had been able to sneak around much. He would wake the whole damn house trying to be quiet.

I gave him a somewhat genuine smile, knowing that this was the last time I would lay eyes on him, these were the last words that we would ever speak.

“Thanks for coming by Danny.” He reached me and gave me a hug. I held on for a few seconds longer than I had intended to, memorizing the way that his arms felt around me and the familiar leather smell that came from him. He was always fond of the jackets. Funny how much a brain worked in overtime to point out little details that had never seemed to matter all that much in the grand scheme of things.

“Like I could leave you hanging.” His lips brushed against my forehead as he pulled back and I had to swallow the lump that was forming in my throat. I jerked my head towards a crate.

“Wanna help me get that loaded?”

“Ain’t the muscle of the group for nothing.” He gave me a playful wink before moving towards the crate. As his back was turned, I slid the knife from my jacket sleeve. A gun was a little too quick for the betrayal but I wasn’t going to make him suffer too much either. As long as I was focused and hit where I needed to, I could give him a small explanation and he would fade quickly.

“You know, I was thinking of bringing Angela to family dinner on Sunday. What do you think of that Cassy?” With a hard thrust, I had the blade buried in his back, deep enough to severe his spine. My jaw clenched at the gasp that he let out and when he tried to turn around, I quickly wrapped an arm around him to keep him in place.

“Don’t think she would have made a good addition to the family Danny. Bit too nosy for our liking. I’m sorry but did you think you would be able to get away talking to the cops?” My voice cracked just a bit as I spoke. His response was a whimper. “I hate you for this, for making me do this. We were family Danny; that was supposed to mean something.” I lowered my voice so only he and I knew what I was saying. I struggled for just a moment with his eight before beginning to lower him to the ground as slowly as possible. I finally withdrew the knife, allowing him to roll over so he could look up at me. Staring down at him, I refrained my tears quite well as a quiet acceptance washed over his face. That white noise came back, even if there wasn’t noise around to cause it. I shook my head and with my clean hand pushed some hair from my face.

“Honestly didn’t think you would end up going through with it. I had to admit, I am a bit impressed.” I glanced over towards the sauntering IRA king. He looked down at Danny with a cocked head. “Think I would have tried to inflict a bit more harm before he passed but that is just me.”

“It’s done. Is there anything else to be done today? If not, I need to get someone here to handle this and get home to finish up my school work.” And have a couple of damn drinks, explain things to the rest of the boys.

“I think we are done for today lass. Go get cleaned up. And make sure this shit doesn’t happen again.” It wouldn’t if I had any say and hold of my family and the men working for us.


End file.
